Scam for High-Tech Goods

posted by 810 & 103.1 WGY News
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2 years ago

Two men from the Bronx are facing charges in Warren County for ripping off the AT&T store by taking cell phones and iPads with fake ID, according to investigators at the Sheriff’s Office.

Jose Rodriguez, 20, of Bronx (far left), is charged with one felony count of Criminal Possession of Stolen Property and Jeffrey Hidalgo, 19, of Bronx, (left) with three felony counts of Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument.

On Saturday, May 3, Rodriguez and Hidalgo were at the AT&T store in Wilton when Hidalgo used a forged license of an existing AT&T customer and bought two cellular phones and two Apple iPads, investigators said.

On the same day, both men “tried the same scheme at the AT&T store in Queensbury,” authorities said in a release. However, through AT&T’s internal messaging, the Queensbury staff was tipped off to the scam and that led to Hidalgo running off and Rodriguez driving the getaway car, according to investigators.

After a brief search, members of the Warren County Sheriff’s Office found and caught them. They say that Hidalgo had three fraudulent licenses from three different states and Rodriguez had the phones and iPads from the AT&T store in Wilton.

Both Rodriguez and Hidalgo were sent to the Warren County Sheriff’s Office lockup and Rodriguez posted bail prior to arraignment. Hidalgo was arraigned the next day in Queensbury Town Court and sent to jail in lieu of $5,000 cash bail or $10,000 bond.

The Warren County Sheriff’s Office is working with the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office and AT&T Loss Prevention Department and more charges could be filed against both men.